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The Future of Online Learning for
Teachers and Students
Chris DedeHarvard [email protected]/~dedech/
The Evolution of Education
• shifts in the knowledge and skills society values
• development of new methods of teaching and learning
• changes in the characteristics of students due to media-based learning styles
emerging information technologiesare reshaping each of these
Evolving towardDistributed Learning
Sophisticated Methods of Learning and TeachingGuided learning by doingApprenticeships, mentoringLearning communities
Orchestrated across classrooms, homes, workplaces, community settings
On demand, just-in-timeCollaborative
distributed across space, time, media
“Next Generation” Interfacesfor Distributed Learning
World to the Desktop:Accessing distant experts and archives forknowledge creation, sharing, and mastery
Multi-User Virtual Environments:Immersion in virtual contexts withdigital artifacts and avatar-based identities
Ubiquitous Computing:Wearable wireless devices coupled tosmart objects for “augmented reality”
What is a MUVE?
A representational container that enables multiple simultaneous participants to access virtual spaces configured for learning.
A place where learners represent themselves through graphical avatars (persona)to communicate with others’ avatars and computer-based agents, as well as to interact with digital artifacts and virtual contexts.
A learning experience that provides diverse activities in support of classroom curriculum.
Findings from Gaming ResearchMassively multi-player online games (MMOG) and complementary fan-fiction offer rich learning and identity formation, but peripherally linked to life
Everquest game has 77th largest economy;over 120,000 fan-fictions online about Harry Potter
River City—Interface
Toolbar Space
Powerful Pedagogical Models
guided inquiry learning withactive construction of knowledge
apprenticeship/mentoring relationshipscollaborative learning:
social exploration of multiple perspectives
How People Learn (National Academy Press, 1999)
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309070368/html
Situated Learning
• constellations of architectural, social, organizational, and material vectors that aid in learning culturally based practices– apprenticeship (the process of moving from
novice to expert within a given set of practices)– legitimate peripheral participation (tacit learning
similar to that involved in internships or residencies)
A Different Model of Pedagogy
Experiences central, rather thaninformation as pre-digested experience(for assimilation or synthesis)
Knowledge is situated in a contextand distributed across a community(rather than located within an individual:with vs. from)
Reputation, experiences, and accomplishments as measures of quality(rather than tests, papers)
Learning CommunityA culture of learning, in which everyone is involved in a collective
effort of understanding
Shares and develops a repertoire of resources: experiences, tools, stories,ways of addressing recurring problems
Allows a close connectionbetween learning and doing
Addresses the informal and tacit aspectsof knowledge creation and sharing
Within courses (lc-light) andin world (community of practice)
Distributed-Learning Communities
Range of participants’ skills and interestsgoes beyond geographic boundaries
Asynchronous media enable convenient participation and deeper reflection
Emotional and social dimensions intensifiedby synchronous virtual interchanges
Broader range of participants engagein dialogue
Mediated, Situated Immersion
“Next Generation” Interfacesfor Distributed Learning
World to the Desktop:Accessing distant experts and archives forknowledge creation, sharing, and mastery
Multi-User Virtual Environments:Immersion in virtual contexts withdigital artifacts and avatar-based identities
Ubiquitous Computing:Wearable wireless devices coupled tosmart objects for “augmented reality”
Implications for Professional Development
Students bring new types of learning strengthsbased on media usageExperience-based, not information centeredCollaborative, not individualAccomplishments as measure of quality
Educators teach as they were taught Distributed learning communitiesPowerful pedagogical models, including
situated Delivery platforms are evolving
Immersive simulationsAnytime, anywhere, chunked but cumulative
